Junk food advertising should be banned

ONE of the best things about being in charge of Ofsted is the chance to visit lots of schools. Watching kids in a classroom is great fun. Most are keen and eager to learn. That’s why teaching can be a really rewarding job, but there’s no doubt it is also a tough one. Today I will be launching my annual report, which will show that, overall, schools in England are doing a good job. The vast majority of children are attending good or outstanding schools, which is as it should be. Young people get just one shot at childhood — leaving no room for complacency. Yet in recent years it feels like more and more is being asked of schools and teachers, which could put this improvement at risk. They are being asked to do things that should be done at home by parents, as they used to be. This is making the job of schools harder. It takes up too much precious time and stops teachers from doing their actual job — teaching. One of the most shocking examples I hear about is the … [Read more...] about Ofsted chief Amanda Spielman says schools are now being asked to do things that should be done by parents

The Government must change the narrative around childhood obesity to make it clear that this is everyone’s business, say the Health and Social Care Committee in their report into childhood obesity. The Committee has identified several key areas which demand attention as a matter of urgency by the Government before the next chapter of the plan is finalised. The report endorses calls for a 9pm watershed on junk food advertising, saying there is a need to be a ban on brand generated characters or licensed TV and film characters from being used to promote HFSS (high fat, sugar and salt) products on broadcast and non-broadcast media, and the Government must align regulations on non-broadcast media with those for broadcast media.The committee says it is also urging the Government to level the playing field for retailers and act to ban confectionery and other unhealthy foods from the ends of aisles and checkouts. It calls for targets to improve rates of breastfeeding, to combat … [Read more...] about Call for watershed on junk food ads to tackle childhood obesity

Tony the Tiger, the Milky Bar Kid and the Honey Monster should be banned from promoting sugary snacks, MPs have said. The health and social care select committee has called for a ban on "brand-generated characters or licensed TV and film characters" as well as junk food adverts before the 9pm TV watershed in attempt the tackle childhood obesity rates.A third of children are overweight or obese by the time they leave primary school, according to official figures.TV chef and campaigner Jamie Oliver told the committee that cartoons and superheroes should not be used to "peddle rubbish" and warned Theresa May to act now as "the future of the NHS is at stake".The committee's latest report into childhood obesity also recommends that supermarkets be forced to remove unhealthy snacks from the end of aisles and checkouts, and that junk food price promotions be restricted.The government should also give local authorities more powers to "limit the proliferation of unhealthy food outlets in … [Read more...] about Tony the Tiger and Honey Monster could be banned

News / UK and world by Press Association May 30, 2018, 1:58 am FacebookTwitterLinkedInWhatsAppEmail Sign up to our Daily newsletter Cartoon characters should be banned from promoting junk food to improve childhood obesity rates, a leading group of MPs has suggested. The Health and Social Care Select Committee has called for a ban on “brand-generated characters or licensed TV and film characters” which are used to promote foods high in fat, sugar or salt on broadcast and non-broadcast media. Such a ban would mean that characters such as Tony the Tiger and the Milky Bar Kid would have to be dropped or used to promote healthier products. And cartoon characters from the latest summer blockbuster would no longer appear on the packaging or adverts for fast food. But characters such as the Jolly Green Giant could continue to be used to promote vegetables. When TV chef and campaigner, Jamie Oliver gave evidence to the committee he said that cartoons and … [Read more...] about Call for ban on cartoons to promote junk food

CHILDHOOD obesity is being fuelled by junk food ads on Google, Facebook and YouTube – despite a ban on kids being targeted. MPs were told our strict advertising rules are a “shocking sham” that are failing to stop internet giants pushing bad diets on youngsters. Items deemed high in fat, salt or sugar cannot be promoted on any media popular with children under advertising rules. But health campaigner Dan Parker, head of charity Living Loud and a former ad exec, told the Commons Health Committee they fail to cover our top 50 websites. And he called for junk food marketing to be treated like porn – with no screenings before the 9pm watershed. Mr Parker told an inquiry on childhood obesity: “This code does not include Google or any other search engines. It does not include YouTube. It does not include Facebook or Twitter. “If you take the list of the top 50 websites in the UK, not one of them is covered by this code. “What it does is stop junk … [Read more...] about Child obesity fuelled by junk food ads on Google, Facebook and YouTube, health campaigner warns